Time

This image is a time blend. It was created by combining two photographs of exactly the same scene but taken at different moments in time. In the summer, the sun sets behind the classic view of Santa Maddalena in the Italian South Tyrol. It illuminates first the village in gold and then, as it sinks, the peaks of the Geisler-Odle group in a redder, alpenglow hue. You cannot get both lighting conditions at the same time. Perception of time is said to be dependent on the nature of one’s activity; it flies when you’re having fun and drags when you’re bored. A time blend provides an empirical illustration of the passage of time. In this case the difference was three minutes – lending credence to Pink Floyd’s 1973 take on the subject: “So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking / Racing around to come up behind you again”.